Shuttle for guests

Knottie1458676640

I really need some honest advice! We're getting requests about having a shuttle to take guests to and from our venue. I was hoping to eliminate this aspect from the budget since some of these costs per trip are pricey. We blocked rooms in hotels about 2 miles from the venue, which at most is a 4 minute drive, hoping this could be a good compromise. Plus our venue shuts down the alcohol portion of the bar an hour before the end of the night. I've been getting a lot of complaints from most of our friends that live locally that this is still rude and we should be more accommodating for drinking and driving reasons.... Most all of our out of town guests haven't seemed as concerned over no shuttle since they plan to drive in or have family that live locally.

Is there a good way to approach this politely?? I understand some hotels offer affordable transportation, but we've been busy covering other parts of the wedding to focus on this as much as some other people have been.

charlotte989875

Knottie1458676640 said:

I really need some honest advice! We're getting requests about having a shuttle to take guests to and from our venue. I was hoping to eliminate this aspect from the budget since some of these costs per trip are pricey. We blocked rooms in hotels about 2 miles from the venue, which at most is a 4 minute drive, hoping this could be a good compromise. Plus our venue shuts down the alcohol portion of the bar an hour before the end of the night. I've been getting a lot of complaints from most of our friends that live locally that this is still rude and we should be more accommodating for drinking and driving reasons.... Most all of our out of town guests haven't seemed as concerned over no shuttle since they plan to drive in or have family that live locally.

Is there a good way to approach this politely?? I understand some hotels offer affordable transportation, but we've been busy covering other parts of the wedding to focus on this as much as some other people have been.

Is this a destination wedding or are many of your guests local? Are there other transportation options (cabs, Uber, Lyft, subways) available? 

You're not required to provide transportation to and from the venue for your guests. It's an extra some people choose to provide if tits in the budget. My only caveat would be if this is a true destination wedding and everyone is traveling in without cars and there is no local transportation available. If that's the case then I would think you need to provide something for your guests. 

Knottie1458676640

Looks like I picked the wrong board to post on...sorry! No it's not a destintation wedding. We're staying local in our hometown.

But thank you for the insight!

charlotte989875

Oh yah, then no I don't see anything wrong with your plans. If people ask maybe have some cab company names available, but there is nothing that requires you to transport people to and from the reception. 

cowgirl8238

charlotte989875 said:

Oh yah, then no I don't see anything wrong with your plans. If people ask maybe have some cab company names available, but there is nothing that requires you to transport people to and from the reception. 

I agree with this.  For my wedding we blocked a nearby hotel that was about 10 minutes from the venue.  One hotel provided a shuttle, but many guests chose to drive anyway.  I would actually prefer to drive if I had the option as shuttles are usually non-flexible and only drop off early and pick-up towards the very end of the reception.

I also agree, that if you have a DW in a location with minimal/no public transit and guests are all flying in, that transportation should be covered by the couple.

ahoywedding

The only thing I would ask is if your venue has enough parking for all of the guests, should they be driving individually? I've been to a few weddings where that's an issue (large city, non-typical wedding location, etc) so if that's the case you may want to think about at least offering it. I personally don't always like the shuttle because it kind of dictates when I have to leave, but it's a better option than parking headaches.

If that's not an issue I would say the 4-5 minute drive should be doable!

LondonLisa

Wait, so your local guests are saying that you need to pay for a shuttle to each of their respective homes after your wedding?

My only advice is get new friends. 

SaintPaulGal

LondonLisa said:

Wait, so your local guests are saying that you need to pay for a shuttle to each of their respective homes after your wedding?

My only advice is get new friends. 

Yeah, that's pretty absurd.  They can do what everyone else does, and what they do every other day of the year: drive themselves and limit their alcohol intake or take a cab.  You don't have any obligation to shuttle everyone home.

SP29

You are not required to provide a shuttle. Your guests are adults who should behave the same way they do at any other event/place they attend that serves alcohol.

Check with your venue and see if cars can be left overnight. Then you can let your guests know that- they can leave their car and take a cab home if they are not appropriate to drive.

I also do not get exactly how this shuttle will work for local guests? Where is it taking them from/to?

MobKaz

DD married locally.  There were several OOT guests that stayed at a nearby hotel.  Based on the number of rooms booked, a shuttle was a FREE perk for our guests.  It only applied to those guests staying at the hotel.

Had the shuttle not been free, those guests would need to find transportation to and from the reception. 

Local guests have no need for a hotel shuttle if they are not guests of the hotel.  Local guests can drive themselves, take a taxi, or hire a driver. 

climbingsingle

I think it's pretty damn rude of your guests to be demanding a shuttle. 

banana468

I've heard of this a bit when I got married "People will be drinking!!   What about how they're getting home?!?"

How about they've been doing this with non weddings for years and it's not my job to provide a chauffeur for them?   It's not your job either. 

Knottie1458676640

I didn't think of asking the hotel or arranging something with uber/lyft! Thanks I'll check into that!!